Board of Directors Meeting - 30 September 2011

1. The meeting was called to order at 11:04 a.m. (CDT) by Dan Gillotte

2. The agenda was reviewed

B. TOPICS DISSCUSSED

Bulletin board: work on the discussion forum will continue, with the criteria that messages can be responded to directly from e-mail (doesn’t require people to go to the forum to respond). The archives will not be migrated. Triangle Park will work with Paul Navarre as long as it’s helpful and attended to in a timely manner.

Board listserve: Dan Nordley will request that Sacie and Don organize an advisory group to determine what they need in order for CGIN to serve them better.

Membership: Dan Nordley will work with Food Cooperative Initiative to come up with a proposal on how CGIN can partner with FCI on alternative ways for newly forming co-ops to join CGIN. The NCGA/NCBA membership prerequisite is an expensive requirement for start-ups. The board did acknowledge that the FCI option doesn’t solve problems for all start-ups, but it does lower the threshold and makes CGIN more affordable. The Board was adamant about not paying FCI for vetting process.

Collaboration tool: interesting idea and could be useful in the future. Board prefers to have management’s focus be on keeping CGIN going and the basics covered before introducing new technologies.

Annual Meeting and Strategic Planning follow-up: the Board is interested in holding an in-person Strategic Planning Session on January 12th & 13th in Austin, TX. Dan Nordley will send out a meeting request to ensure those dates work for all directors. The Strategic Planning Session (SPS) committee is Dan Nordley, Dan Gillotte, Ben Nauman, Doug Walter, and Bella Waters.

Financial report: the board would like to see monthly financial reports. Dan will send out financials as of September once they have been finalized. Dan will work with John and Travis for excess cash options. There is a preference that they be in a credit union or place with limited risk.

Feedback: Board will formulate a plan to determine satisfaction with current management contract – possible Executive Session at the SPS meeting. Ben discussed his preferences: focus on keeping lights on at CGIN and relationship with the Board; development put on hold unless there is extra capacity; support the board chair with timely financials and board packet; and more explanation in listserve communications to members. Dan G. will work with TriPark to help figure out the balance between what is needed to bring before the board, vs what decisions TriPark can make.

Transition: Dan G. heard from members that there’s a desire to have more knowledge in who the new CGIN team is. Members appreciate knowing who is responding to inquires. Dan N. will introduce the new CGIN operations team, along with photos to help members get acquainted.

C. BURNING ISSUES.

Listserves: Doug would like to see the guidelines for the listserves be more direct (ex. rephrase ‘be polite and respectful’)